Legacy and Scholarship Information
The foundational article was written by Renae and published in the Crystal Hall Forums, WA Universe section: Graduating Class Legacies Ever since the first graduating class (‘68), the senior class at Whateley has traditionally created a “legacy.” As time has passed, this has come to mean “some really cool, permanent thingy that will make future generations look back and say ‘Whoa, the class of XX was so much more awesome than we could ever hope to be'.” The original idea was to demonstrate what a team of 100 super-powered mutants could accomplish with a month of working together. The fact that this inspires high school seniors to create absurd, incongruous, impractical junk that would immediately give away the secret of Whateley led to a “review and oversight committee” in ‘82. Nowadays, additions to the college are (mostly) in-style with the architecture, not too over the top for a normal private school of non-mutants and have some practical utility. It must be remembered that while Whateley fosters a sense of nobility and civic-mindedness in some students, other students seem to take rather the opposite course. This has (as of 1973) resulted in a legacy backlash, known alternately as the “anti-legacy", the “senior scam", the “dark legacy” and “your last chance to wise up before you pin on the ‘sucker’ badge". As tradition has solidified regarding the legacies, they operate as follows: Seniors (class president, etc.) circulate ideas throughout the fall. Plans are reviewed, modified, and approved by the oversight committee in December. From February 15 to March 21, seniors have only spotty attendance in class, devoting time to both the legacy and the anti-legacy. Future heroes and villains cooperate to help each other and get their last glimpse of how the other side lives. March 21 (or 20th), exactly at the vernal equinox, the new legacy is unveiled. Seniors get a two day vacation then return to classes until spring break. Note - this doesn't seem to be the current schedule. Currently, the Senior Legacy is built during Winter Term and presumably unveiled right after students return from Spring Break. Past Legacies Here are some notable legacies previous classes have left behind. (early): Homer Gallery Homer Gallery (in Shuster Hall): The mementos of prominent alumni (good and bad). Long room, glass cases, paintings, freestanding displays, wax manikins, stuffed animals that never existed, ultra-tech do-dads, weapons, one ton of gold bullion. Security is pretty good. '70: FSA Clubhouse The Future Superheroes of America clubhouse was built as a legacy by the Class of 1970.The Play's the Thing ‘74: Cottage Tunnels Tunnels to Hawthorne, Twain, and Whitman (Underground “Den of iniquity” also added as the Dark Legacy – location unknown) ‘77: Arena 77 “Arena 77”: Underground ‘training hall’ armored against full use of powers, with visitor (spectator) gallery (That year’s dark legacy was a set of pneumatic tubes, betting booths, and bookie stations that serve to this day) ‘81: Kane Observatory Dome '83: Grotto The 'hot tub' grotto near Poe Cottage is a legacy of the Class of 1983. Observatory Dome (and tower) added to Kane Hall ‘85: Crystal Hall Crystal Hall: A glass geodesic dome housing the school cafeteria, with interior waterfall and tropical garden. (The “glass” is actually a highly durable bulletproof crystal.) Added to Shuster Hall in the location of a much older concert hall (which was torn out). Diamond Cutter manifested the 'crystal' and continues to produce it commercially, keeping the precise makeup of it a closely guarded secret.Even Murphy's Law has Loopholes: Chapter Six ‘87: Black Monday “Black Monday”: A stock market crash engineered by elements of the ‘87 senior class. Fortunately never traced back to Whateley. In recompense, the class of ‘87 has been enormously generous in scholarship and bequest funding. ‘91: Arena 91 “Arena 91”: Larger and more heavily armored than Arena 77, “91” included holographic scenery and backgrounds inspired by (and directly stolen from) the just released game “Street Fighter II” (those backdrops have been regularly upgraded, following new game releases) ‘99: Arena 99 “Arena 99”: Intended to be the last word in arenas, this was larger and more armored than Arena 91 and included upgradeable computer-controlled magnetic and force-field technology to provide obstacles and opponents. Dress code for Arena 99 requires a mask, costume and alias. The ‘99 Dark Legacy was a full set of surveillance cameras, and high-speed network links to Las Vegas and several pay-per-view distribution sites. School officials have sporadically tried to shut both down but since the wildly popular “Mutant Death Match” broadcasts have never been connected to Whateley or its students, the effort has dropped off. ‘07: Crystal Hall Improvements The Class of 2007 remodeled the interior of the Crystal Hall to allow it to seat more students. They built two new levels, which don't quite reach the edges of the dome, and a set of escalators and elevators, plus new gardens and water features.Ayla and the Mad Scientist Each level has 4 circular dais pads that just out into the space with larger room for tables. They are off set from the level above so as to create a terraced effect. The waterfall now has a large artificial rock wall on the Schuster Hall side that conceals bathrooms on all three levels. On the top level, the left dais is reserved for faculty and staff, the right for the Alphas. Whilst Any Speaks Unknown year A Serbo-Croatian terrorist organization threatened a student's family. The Senior Legacy was them acting against the terrorists. As Headmaster Carson said: "There is not a single member of that terrorist group alive and intact today. Those who are alive are all in prisons serving life sentences, and are all on some manner of life support or requiring prosthetic assistance."Ayla and the New School Scholarships Due to Black Monday, scholarship money is not exactly an issue but is awarded in a slightly tight-fisted manner as students who receive it invariably have a 'job' on campus. In other words, not a 'free' ride. : Essentially, the entire scholarship fund is used for all the school costs (including room and meals). The students only personally see the tiny percentage that goes to things like pocket money (for the kids who are really in dire straits), school supplies (textbooks are loaned to kids who can't afford to buy them, so this is mainly notebooks and pencils), uniforms (and even clothes for some), and so on. This is critical, because some students no longer have a family who will recognize them, and some students come from families that have no money.Diane Castle on theCrystal Hall Forums There are, if you will likely be scholastic, scholarships based upon GPA and so on. One perspective on these is that it may be easier for a Exemplar (or something similar) to get and continue to receive them. So there may be a different set of standards for non-exemplars to get them. (Note - there's an Exemplar and Genius track with harder classes.) -Exemp: It's easy I maintain a 3.9-4.0 & stuff and I get $$$ -Non: Yeah but I had to work for my 3.5. Wah! It's not fair. -Exemp: That's life. -Work Study: Yeah But I really work! Possible Areas for Work Study would be: * Lab Assistants * Teachers Aides * Grounds Keepers * Janitorial * Gym Aide (e.g. towel passer/bench wiper) * Life Guard * Tutor Center Aide * Library (Tennyo's job) * Maintenance * Cable stringers * IT Center * Plumbing and Construction: (Generator and Shroud's job) * Facility Support (wall repair, divot filling, lightbulb tender, etc.) * Copy Center * Rec Center Staff: (ball and equipment check out) * Medical Center Aides * Cafeteria (Tennyo's job for a very short time; Jana's job) * Administration (Timeless's job) * Security Auxilary (Usually not offered to freshmen. Lancer's job) I am sure, this being Whateley, there are likely some oddball jobs that need to be filled, as well. References Category:The Academy Category:Renae